Without saying a word, Wanda Doyle's mother let her know that becoming an artist wasn't practical.
As a girl, she enjoyed making paints. She would diligently dissect her pencil crayons, pulling their bright insides out and crushing them up. Then she would mix the colourful powder with warm water. Once the process was carefully completed, the substance Doyle ended up with formed paint colours. Doyle would place the mixtures into old medicine bottles for sake keeping. But they didn't have a long lifespan.
"My mother would always find them and throw them away," Doyle said with a smile.
Today, Doyle's mother has done a turnaround. She gets excited to hear about Doyle's latest commissions or exhibitions. It wasn't until Doyle retired from her job as an office administrator 10 years ago that, for the first time in her life, she was able to delve into painting.
It started with one painting the first year, then three the next, until it snowballed. Since 2004, Doyle has been working as a full-time artist from her home studio. Besides having her work in numerous solo and group exhibits, Doyle volunteered her time to several Sea to Sky Corridor arts organizations. Two years ago, Doyle sat as the president of Visuals Squamish Valley Artists, a non-profit organization that she's been involved with since 2006.
Now Doyle is taking a break from boards to focus on painting. Instead of spending time organizing shows and looking through minutes, Doyle is seeking out new landscapes to place on canvas.
"We live in paradise," Doyle said, while sitting in Galileo Coffee House caf茅 surrounded by her latest exhibit.
Looking at the work hung on the walls is like going on a shoreline walk around the Sea to Sky Corridor. Doyle's paintings, both in acrylic and oil, feature Furry Creek, the Stawamus Chief, Horseshoe Bay and Britannia Beach.
With a feast of scenic beauty around us, it's easy to take the corridor's geographic assets for granted, Doyle said. Her painting expeditions - on which Doyle either brings her art supplies to paint "en plein air" or a camera to reproduce the image at her studio - help Doyle see the local views through new eyes.
"It also gets me out to areas I wouldn't usually go to," Doyle said.
In the future, Doyle hopes to take her passion for painting to the road. She wants to go on an RV trip with her husband, her paints and an open plan. Doyle will venture into the wilderness with her art easel and her husband will stand guard with his shotgun, she joked.
"It is a whole different experience to stand outside with the sunshine and paint," Doyle said.
Doyle's show at the Galileo caf茅 in Britannia Breach, which includes 19 pieces, will run until the end of October. For more information on Doyle's work visit www.nsartists.ca/wandadoyle.
